Overalls



Jan. 6, 1942- A. s. PLIMPTON OVERALLS Filed Sept. 18, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet l M d. PM 9 W /m'zr Jan. 6, 1942. A. s. PLIMPTON 2,269,380

OVERALLS Filed Sept. 18; 194,0- 2 SheetsSheet 2 ball portions of snapfasteners In, for the purpose of providing adjustability. Preferredresults are obtained by locating these members ID in a position such asthat shown in Fig. 3 in which the ball portions of the fasteners aredisposed above and rearwardly of the ball portions of the firstmentioned set of snap fasteners in offset relation. This serves toreduce bulging of the garment material at points in the leg as thebottom portion circumference is reduced.

It will be observed that by providing the lower circumference of theoverall leg of a size such that the material of the garment may bemaintained in spaced relation to the angle of a wearer, the requirement,particularly stressed by railroad employees, that circulation of air beprovided for in the bottom portions of the garment is taken care of. Atthe same time, bulkiness in the overall leg is substantially eliminatedor greatly reduced. The length of the cut 3 extends upwardly from thebottom edge of the leg a sufficient distance to remove excess materialthroughout the lower portions of the overall leg where trouble fromcatching is most likely to occur. At the same time the split or cutfacilitates pulling the garment on over the foot, even when heavy typesof footwear are being worn, such as boots, overshoes, and the like. Thesnap fasteners specified for securing the folded portions together arealso highly adapted to quick and easy removal of the garment.

In reducing the circumference of the overall leg in the manner nowdescribed, there may result a bulging of overall material at one pointor another in the upper part of the overall leg. In accordance with afurther feature of the invention, such unevennesses in the contour ofthe overall leg are eliminated. This is effected by pleating atriangularly shaped portion ll of the garment material, at someconvenient point as directly above the cut 3, and securing this pleatedportion by lines of stitching l2 and I3. This forms a tuck l4 locatedimmediately above the upper ends of the folded edges 1 and 8, asillustrated in Figs. 2-8 inclusive. The length of the tuck I4 maypreferably be approximately eight inches. It will be noted that inpleating the material ll upon itself to form the tuck I 4, the upper endof the folded-over edge 8 maybe disposed in overlapping relation withrespect to the corresponding end of the folded-over edge 1, and the twoends may be secured in this position by the stitching l3. The line ofstitching l2 and the line along which the folded edges overlap thenoccur in a substantially upright manner, as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, andthe line of stitching l3 extends in a substantially horizontaldirection. It will also be observed that the tuck M serves to remove asubstantially triangularly shaped part of the overall leg, and thatsecuring the overall leg along the folded edges 1 and 8 serves to removea relatively greater, part of the overall leg. This provides two stagesin the reduction of the overall leg to the desired minimum sizepreviously noted. By carrying out the reduction in two stages, in one ofwhich a fixed reduction occurs and in the other of which an adjustablefeature is retained, a relatively smooth contour line l5, along theouter side of the overall leg, is obtained and at the same time suitableflexibility for donning and removing the garment is achieved.

It has been found that the reduction of the overall leg circumferenceeffected by the tuck M, which corresponds to the circumference of theoverall leg at the point where the cut 3 terminates, must be limited toa definite size suitable for putting on and taking off the garment.Making allowance for variation in sizes, a minimum circumference ofeighteen inches has been found to be necessary to meet theserequirements. This relation is more clearly illustrated in Figs. 5, 6and '7, of which Fig 5. shows the conventional twenty-four-inchcircumference of the overall leg. Fig. 6 shows the reduction effected bythe tuck [4 to an eighteen-inch circumference, and Fig. 7 shows thereduction of the bottom of the overall leg to an eleven-inchcircumference.

Several advantages are obtained by the overall construction noted. Theusual bulkiness common to overall legs is avoided, and excess amounts ofoverall material are eliminated, with the formation of a smooth contourline along the outer side of the leg, as well as at other points. Theadjustable bottom portion is easily secured together and opened, andinsures a spaced relation of the overall to provide for circulation ofair at all times. The snap fastening provides added safety since iteasily opens if the overall becomes caught in projecting parts ofmachinery. The fashioned overall leg is effective in eliminatingaccidents, particularly those occurring with railroad employees. Theconstruction described is easily and cheaply effected and adds verylittle to the cost of the garment, while greatly increasing itsdesirability. A substantially definite range of dimensions have beenworked out which are adapted to provide the results noted, and thesedimensions include the minimum circumference at the bottom of theoverall leg of eleven inches, and the minimum circumference at thebottom of the tuck of eighteen inches. In addition, best results areobtained by having the adjustable secured folded edges of approximatelytwelve inches in length and having the tuck approximately eight incheslong.

If desired, other means of reducing the circumference of an overall leg,limited to the minimum circumference noted, may be resorted to. Forexample, in carryingout the first described reduction of the overall legat the bottom portion thereof, the material may be pleated, or formedwith a gusset, and have the edges resulting from such operations heldtogether in some suitable manner, as for example by the snap fastenersdescribed or by other means of fastening, such as a Talon or slidefastener and the like. In this case, no out in the material need beeffected. Still other arrangements may be resorted to, such as that inwhich a triangular piece of the overall material might be removed, theedges thereafter being brought together without the folding operationsdescribed above. Similarly, these variations in means of reducing thecircumference of the overall leg may be applied to the reductioneffected by the tuck l4, and the tuck may be constructed at variousother points in the overall leg from those illustrated in the drawings.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should beunderstood that various changes and modifications may be furtherresorted to, as for example, the two-stage reduction of a garmentportion in the manner disclosed may be utilized in connection with othertypes of garments than overalls, in keeping with the spirit of theinvention,

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An improved overall construction including a leg portion having atuck formed therein, said tuck adapted to take up material fromthelegportion and provide mid-sections therein of reduced circumference,said tuck being further formed of a triangularly shaped piece ofmaterial folded upon itself and secured by one line of stitchingextending longitudinally of the overall leg, and by a secondline ofstitching extending circumferentially of the overall leg, said legportion being folded at its outer lower end along diverging linesadapted to include amounts of material greater than that included by thesaid tuck, the folded parts of said leg portion terminating at a pointadjacent the said tuck, the upper extremities of said folded parts beingsecured in overlapping relation by the said line of stitching extendingcircumferentially of the leg portion, and said folded parts of the legportion at their lower ends being adjustably secured together along aline extending generally longitudinally of the overall leg thereby toreduce the circumference of the lower end of the leg portion to a sizeless than the reduced circumference of the said mid-section thereof,

2. A garment of the character described, including leg portions havingtucks formed in the mid-section thereof for the purpose of removingmaterial from the legs and providing midsections of reducedcircumference, each of said tucks being further formed of a triangularlyshaped piece of material folded upon itself and secured by one line ofstitching extending longitudinally of the overall leg, and by a secondline of stitching extending circumferentially of the overall leg, saidleg portions further being folded at their bottoms to remove amounts ofmaterial greater than that included by the said tuck, for the purpose ofreducing in a relatively greater degree the circumference of the bottomsof the leg portions, said folded parts of the leg portions beingadjustably fastened together.

, AUSTIN S. PLIMPTON.

